Earlier this year I bought myself a New Testament in the original Koine Greek language. I was surprised by the order of the books. In my English Bible Paul’s letters follow on from the Gospels and Acts. In the Greek, the catholic or general epistles precede Paul’s. Thus the first letter is James’.
What is the first thing that James says to his readers? “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perserverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything.”
I have a bird bath in my garden and have been waiting for weeks to capture a photo of a bird actually using it. This week the waiting finally paid off. First a goldfinch came a drank right in front of me, then, the following day, a green finch did the same thing. On both occassions I was only a few feet away with my camera in hand. My patience and perserverance finally was rewarded with some great close-up shots.
Please excuse my mundane and simple anecdote, to illustrate such profound, biblical and pastoral teaching. I was thrilled to get these photos. I wonder whether James had this feeling in mind when he urged his readers to ‘consider it pure joy’.
Stephen's Wildlife 